I've seen pictures of Pyongyang before and I find them to be fascinating. The stark white architecture in a seemingly deserted city (the streets always seem devoid of cars, pedestrians, life in general). Too bad I'm American, I'd love to see it up close.

Ditto that guiggster, it's like an "archi-stalkers" dream (see thread)....no people and perfect opportunities for picture-taking.

That having been said, North Korea scares the living shite out of me. Scary like, where did those pictures come from? And is the person that took them still alive to tell about it? Very overdramatic I know, but probably the only way I'd visit is if I had a little jet pack that I could fly around in.

Which is fun to think about anyway....

the north korean government uses a lot of its money (besides military and propaganda) to create magnificent buildings to enhance its image to the world. Most of these buildings are very empty because most people, besides the upper class, cannot afford to live in them and this is why these parts of the city are very devoid. When the government allows certain people outside of Korea to visit North Korea, they only allow them to visit specific areas where their architecture is at their grandest to impress them.